Wednesday, 24 May 2017

Razia Sultana, first Muslim woman ruler of Delhi Sultanate

Among
the Muslim rulers of India, in the early period only the males were
the legal successor to the throne and the women were not either engaged
or allowed to rule the land. Ruling the state was responsibility of the
males. This was also true of the Hindu rulers. Razia Sultana became the
first woman in Indian History to preside over the Muslim kingdom. Razia Sultana (1205 - October 13, 1240),
the Sultan of Delhi from 10 November 1236 - 14 October 1240 was
surprisingly the only Muslim woman ever to rule the Delhi Sultanate
dominated only by male royal family members. Her given name was Raziya al-Din (also Jalâlat-ud-Dîn Raziyâ)Her father Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, was a Turk slave to Qutb ud din Aibak, the first Sultan of Delhi, and
ultimately he became the Sultan of Delhi. Since he happened to be a
loyal slave, Aibak himself gave his daughter Qutub Begum in marriage
to Iltutmish. Razia's brother was Nasiruddin Mahmud. Razia was
brought up in the corridors of power and enjoyed special privileges in
the royal family and also in the court. On the other hand, her half
brothers Rukn ud din Firuz and Muiz ud din Bahram, who were the sons of
former slave-girls, were side-tracked and not in the center of power.

Razia's
early childhood was mostly spent around her father, particularly after
the demise of Qutb ud din Aibak. Along with her father, she used to
attend the court and was exposed to the functioning of the state
affairs. Being inquisitive and had the ability to learn anything
quickly, she became well trained to run the kingdom independently, if
required, in the absence of her father or her husband. Her flair for
administration, hard work and her mother's royal lineage, stood her
in good stead and made her a confirmed favorite with Iltutmish. At the same time, her brother Nasiruddin Mahmud (Razia's brother) was also groomed by Iltutmish to succeed him.

The
unexpected sudden death of Nasir ud din Mahmud in 1229 CE, left
Iltutmish in the dark as he did not have a right person to succeed him
to the throne. The choice fell on Razia, as none of his several
surviving sons, born of his other wives, were unfit to succeed the
throne. In 1230 - 1231, after his successful war expedition to Gwalior, ltutmish became the first sultan to appoint a woman (his own daughter) as his successor.
The sultan took this decision because during his absence, princess
Razia governed the state well and won the appreciation of the people
Thus Razia became his heir apparent and took the credit of being the
first and only female ruler of Delhi Sultanate.

After
Iltutmish's death on 30 April 1236, Razia's half-brother Rukn ud din
Firuz was elevated to the throne instead. Since he was more after the
trappings of the highest position and was in pursuit of personal
pleasure and spent his time in the harem, he never paid attention to
the state affairs and welfare of his subjects. This resulted in
resentment and outrage among the people. Iltutmish's widow Shah Turkaan for all practical purposes ran the show.
Six months later on 9 November 1236, both Rukn ud din and his mother
Shah Turkaan were assassinated . With no male members to lead the
Sultanate, with hesitation, the nobility agreed to allow Razia to reign
as Sultan of Delhi.

Razia was endowed with all attributes an
effective ruler would require. Being just and sagacious, she patronized
the learned. Her husband was Malik Ikhtiar-ud-din Altunia with whom she had romantic involvement earlier. Before wedding, when Atunia was the Governor of
of Bathinda, the Turkic aristocracy, on purpose, spread rumors about
Razia's romantic escapades with Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut, an Abyssinian Siddi
(Habshi) slave. Infuriated Altunia's became jealous and rebelled against
her in order to get her back. In the ensuing battle, Yaqut was killed
and Razia was taken as prisoner at Qila Mubarak at Bathinda. A chanced
meeting with Altunia while offering Friday prayers in a mosque cleared
the mistrust and helped Razia win back her lost-love and she she was
released in August 1240 and later she married him.

After Razia
became a ruler, the Turkic nobles along with Malik Ikhtiar-ud-din
Altunia, Razia's lover, conspired to weaken the administration by
setting a rebellion against her. When Razia confronted him at the head
of an army. Altunia and his fellow-conspirators lost no time to
capture Razia who was entrusted with the care of Altunia and the rest of the nobles returned to the capital.

Razia's half-brother Muiz ud din Bahram, took advantage of the chaotic political situation and ascended the throne. Altunia and Razia in October 1240 made a vein attempt to get back the
sultanate from Bahram and later they fell into the hands of Hindu Jats
who robbed and killed them on 13 October 1240. Bahram 's reign lasted
from from 1240 to 1242, and later he was dethroned for incompetence.

Razia
died at the age of 35 and the place of Razia's burial is a subject of
discussion by historians. Among Delhi, Kaithal and Tonk, Rajasthanm,
one place seems to be her place of burial. Some people also say that
she was buried where she died in the hands of the Jats. The strong
belief is that Razia Sultana was buried in Kaithal, Rajasthan. The grave of Razia Sultana, it is believed is in Bulbul-i-Khan near Turkmen Gate, Delhi. As
for her reign, she got a good name from all sections of the society.
She was a good ruler and respected the sentiments of other cultures,
including the Hindu community. She established schools, public
libraries and encouraged Islamic as well as Hindu philosophers.

Lables

About

I am KN.Jayaraman, Retd Geologist, author of this blog. I have a strong passion for Ancient Indian Culture, art, architecture, etc...
I started this blog with a view to covering the above areas and also odd things related to India.
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